East Conf. Semis Game 4: Boston Celtics 92-103 Philadelphia 76ers - 5 Talking Points
It was a win or go home scenario for the Philadelphia 76ers and they ensured that they weren't consigned to the ignominy of a second-round sweep unlike their Canadian counterparts up North.
They executed well offensively throughout the game to come through with a 103-92 victory over a Boston Celtics team that was looking to close out the series at the Wells Fargo Center and earn its second road victory of the playoffs.
Coach Brett Brown rang in a couple of changes to his lineups, electing to go rather smaller than his stock starting five from the regular season as he plugged TJ McConnell into the role of starting point guard. That paid dividends, as McConnell was much more of a scoring threat than Robert Covington - the player whom he'd replaced in the starting lineup.
The game was close up until much of the 3rd quarter, but the Sixers had an 11-1 run that gave them a healthy lead heading into the 4th quarter. They continued to pile up the points, and they sealed the victory with over 2 minutes remaining. The following are 5 talking points from the game:
#5 Foul trouble for the Celtics
At halftime, four different Celtics were teetering on foul trouble with 3 fouls each. Of these players, Jayson Tatum picked up his 3rd foul the earliest - with more than 7 minutes left on the clock in the 2nd quarter.
Incidentally, he'd picked up his first 2 within the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, which meant he had to walk on eggshells for the remainder of his first half playing time in any case.
Marcus Morris had picked up his 3rd foul with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter. Marcus Smart, who'd checked in less than a minute before, was whistled for his 3rd with 2:40 on the clock, while Jaylen Brown's 3rd personal foul came at the 1:40 mark.
Coach Brad Stevens, however, did not take the normal coaching recourse of taking these players out for the remainder of the quarter. He kept all four of them in till the end of the quarter, presumably to preserve their shooting rhythm and prevent them from getting 'cold'.
It, however, meant that Philly were able to break into the paint with greater ease from that point, and they went into the locker room with a 47-43 lead that they preserved till the end of the game.